The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Science andTechnology (MEXT) implemented the Top Global University Project(TGU) in 2014 to prioritize support to the universities actively promotinginternationalization1. Waseda University was selected to be a part of thisproject.The Global Asia Research Center (GARC) is one of the centers responsiblefor world-class education and research at Waseda University, under theframework of the TGU2. The purpose of the GARC is to study historicalreconciliation and sustainable development from an interdisciplinaryperspective, and to disseminate the outcomes globally. The SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), adopted at the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Summit in September 2015, are global development goals. Oneof the objectives of the TGU is to achieve the SDGs.Reconciling history and promoting sustainable future development in EastAsia present significant challenges. In pursuing reconciliation in East Asia, acritical re-examination of Japan's war responsibility and colonialism isnecessary. In Europe, war and colonial responsibilities have been discussedseparately. While advances have been made on the question of warresponsibility, the debate over the legacy of colonialism has only recentlybegun. Promoting sustainable development and reaching a regional agreementon a common goal appears to be more challenging for the nations ofEast Asia, where there are greater differences in religion, culture, economicdevelopment, political systems, and other aspects when compared to Europe.Studies to overcome these challenges should be conducted from aninterdisciplinary perspective, incorporating multiple disciplines. The GARCbrings together researchers from various specialized fields such as history, development studies, economics, sociology, international relations, internationallaw, regional studies, peace studies, conflict resolution, political science, urban and rural planning, business administration, and managementengineering. At the GARC, a diverse group of researchers is pursuinginterdisciplinary research by building on their disciplines through innovativeapproaches.